SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Iraq became China’s third largest oil supplier in 2020, as U.S. sanctions nearly chocked off exports from Iran and Venezuela, according to Reuters.
Oil demand in China, the world’s top oil importer, remained strong last year even as the coronavirus crisis hammered global appetite. Chinese imports rose 7.3% to a record of 542.4 million tons or 10.85 million barrels per day (bpd).
U.S. sanctions nearly choked off oil exports from Iran and Venezuela, while Iraq was the main beneficiary, Reuters said.
Iraq’s oil exports to China rose 16.1% to 60.12 million tons in 2020, making it China’s third largest oil supplier, Reuters reported.
Data from the General Administration of Chinese Customs showed on Wednesday that Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest oil exporter, beat Russia to keep its ranking as China’s top crude supplier in 2020, Reuters reported.
Saudi shipments to China in 2020 rose 1.9% from a year earlier to 84.92 million tons, or about 1.69 million bpd, the data showed.
Russia was a close second with shipments of 83.57 million tons, or 1.67 million bpd, up 7.6% from 2019, the data showed.
In December, Saudi supplies were 6.94 million tons, down 0.8% from the same month a year earlier, while Russian volumes fell 15.7% to 6.2 million tons.
Saudi Arabia has played catch up as a supplier since November by cutting prices to woo customers, overtaking Russia, which had led for most of 2020 with more flexible transport options and geographical proximity to Chinese refiners.
China’s imports of U.S. oil more than tripled in 2020 to 19.76 million tons, or 394,000 bpd, compared to a year earlier, as companies bought crude under a trade deal between Washington and Beijing. Imports were 3.6 million tons in December.
China’s total purchases of major U.S. energy products, including crude, liquefied natural gas, propane, butane and coal, were worth $9.784 billion in 2020, about 38.7% of the $25.3 billion target set out in the Phase 1 trade deal.
Cashing in on lower prices and with aggressive marketing to China’s independent refiners, Brazil expanded oil exports to China to become its fourth biggest supplier last year. Brazil’s oil exports to China rose 5.1% to 42.19 million tons.
